Denture attachment



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p 1927 I. STERN DENTURE ATTACHMENT FiledNov. 6, 1925 INVENTOR Isidore Ste/"r1 Patented Sept. 6, 1927.

entree "'rrss ISIDOR-E STERN, or unw Your; N. Y.

Dmv'runn a rraeniannr.

App1ication filed November This invention'relates'to dentistry and more particularly to in'iproven'ients in denture attachments for use in removable bridge work.

An object of the invention is to produce a new and improved denture attachment which may be used in connection with removable dental bridges of the kind in which a socket formed in pier tooth receives an 1 anchor head capable of adjustment in order that it snugly fit in the socketand in order that the bridge, which is carriedby a shank on the anchor head may be securely mounted in service position though capable of being removed and replaced.

A. further object of the invention is to produce a substantially strong and durable T-sha'ped denture head having wings which may be bent or adjusted in order that it be fitted and slipped into the socket with increased pressure engagement and frictional contact. 7 I

Still another object of the invention is the provision of. a T-shaped denture head whereof the adjustable wings have the maximum length in order ,to obtain the greatest possible degree of adjustment.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an example of the invention andcertain changes in structure and use may be resorted to without departing from the principles involved.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view, largely atop and side View, of an assembled removable dental bridge showing the improved dentureattachment head joined to each end of a bridge and with the heads resting in the pier tooth sockets.

Figure 2 shows a cluster view of, the denture attachment by way of several projections.

Figure 3 shows a perspective View of an enlarged modified form of the invention.

11. characteristic feature of this invention relates to the shank and head joinder, i. e.

the point or line where the head and shank' s, 1925. Serial No. 67,204.

ture heads constituting the improVedyfature of the invention. The'sockets 4 are of any approved type as for eXample metal inserts closed at the bottom andhaving slots facing the bridge B by which the shanks on the denture head are received thereinto; One'form of the improved adjustable denture headattachment is shown in Figure 2 wherein a shank 6 is made on a head 7. Frequently, the head and shank areintegrally joined. In this instance the head 75%; is provided with parallel curvilinear or rounded grooves 8 formed therein adjacent the'shank 6. The grooves in fact are cut or extended into the back face of the head 7 and alongside the shank 6' and this in effect 5 unites the head to the shank by fillets. Thus the shank 6 projects outwardly from the head 7 between the grooves 8 which greatly strengthens the line or. point of joinder as between head and shank forthe reason.,.

that all sharp corners are eliminated and a curved bending zone is provided at the point where the bending adjustment occurs and the curved wall adjacent the shank serves as a fillet to break an otherwise abrupt corner,

and the fillet resists crackingor openingof a seam which otherwise would develop at the shank and headjoinder line. if

The head 7, in the-form of the invention herein illustrated, extends toeach side of the 1,: shank 6 thus forming whatniay frequently be referred to as a T-shaped denture attachment oranchor head The'purpose of the shank G is to enable the dental. mechanic who constructs the bridge to solder or otherwise secure the head 7 to the bridge. The attachments are made up with a substantially long shank 6 so that the dental mechanic will have a sufiiciency of stock with which to work, and he simply cuts off a portion. of the shank 6 should it be too long to appropriately reach from the socket 4 to the bridge B.

After the bridge is constructed, the head 7, constituting inffact wings reaching to either side of the shank 6, are adjusted. This is accomplished by slightly bending the outer wing ends 7 by using a tool for this purpose the bending occurring at the region of the groove 8 and adjacent the shank 6.

This bending adjustment does not in any way effect or impair the strength of the denture at the point where the wings. oin the shank. llU

Another. and further attachment improve-- ment which may to advantage be used with denture to have its wings independently adjusted so that one wing may be bent one Way and another be bent in the opposite direction if it is desired.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 3 whereina modified. form ofthe denture head is shown, there is illustrated diagonal or angular slits 12 made through the head 13 formed on a shank 14. The angular slits 12 simply increases the length of the cutting line 12 over the length of the cutting line 10 of the first form of the invention described. Sometimes it is desirable to have long cutting lines or slits 12 for the purpose of providing wings 13 defined by substantially long wing edges so that the wings themselves are, in effect, longer and may be ofi'setto a greater extent from the front marginal plane of the head to take up a still greater degree of wear than is possible with the horizontally extending wings shown in Figure 2. Grooves 15 are also used if 8 desired in this form of the. invention, and

the grooves 15 perform the same purpose as hereinbefore described, namely, that they cut into the rear face of the head wings thereby forming a bendingzone or axis at the desired place and thus avoiding sharp corners at the point or line of joinder between the shank 14 and head 13.

To a large extent, these attachments are manufactured without the slits across the head in which case, adjustment is made by bending the entire wing in relation to the shank in order that a slight curvature be imparted to wing which results in producing perceptible frictional surface engagement as between the cooperating socket and denture head.

Denture attachments are really subjected to more severe usage, wear and tear than appreciated by many users. In fact much difficulty is encountered by reason of the head breaking oil of the shank in certain adjustable attachments now on the market. One reason for this difficulty appears to be that the full amount of stock is not retained in the Zone of the shank and head joinder, and the stock in many attachments is reduced at that point to enable the wings to be adjusted. lVith my attachment, the shank 6 reaches through the head. The grooves 15 flankingthe shank do not make it otherwise. True, some stock, a portion of metal, is missing by reason of the grooves but nevertheless the grooves do not remove any stock from the shank, and whats more important the grooves do not remove any stock from the head in front of or inline with the shank. For these reasons my denture attachment is unusually strong for its comparatively small size and for its comparatively easy bending adjustment.

lVhat I claim is:

A rectangular T-shaped denture attach ment comprising a rectangular head for insertion in a pier tooth socket and formed with two parallel spaced grooves extending vertically from end to end, and a shank adapted to be secured to a pier tooth socket and integrally joined to the head between the two spaced grooves, said head being formed with a plurality of parallel slits disposed at an acute angle to the median plane of the shank and extending into the grooves.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature.

ISIDORE STERN. 

